Run in the Dark
by FutureCam
Summary: For PitFTW/Foxpilot's contest. Marth and Samus used to serve in a secret agency five years ago…but Marth got set up by someone and never heard from her since. When he's suddenly contacted, asking him for his help, will he accept or leave her to die? Noir
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law: If something can go wrong, it will. Story of my life, as you can probably tell from looking at it.  
I suppose I better introduce myself. My name's Marth Lowell. I went from one of the best secret agents to a cheap private eye in the cheapest part of True City. Even as I walk through these sad, crumbling streets I wonder just how the hell everything went wrong.  
And then she paged me for the first time in five years, and now I'm walking towards a dark alley in the darkest part of the town ruled by the darkest crime lord in history – Tabuu Lawliet. I came real close to taking him down once, but failed and had to fake my own death – to the extent of becoming a cheap private eye. And all because of her.

Hell, the message doesn't even say much. It was just a simple two lines and a set of initials:  
_'I need your help. Meet me in the alley next to Richard's Bar. SA.'  
_Samus Aran. Used to be a feared CIA agent too…until she went rogue and became a bounty hunter after fooling me into thinking she loved me and then using me as a fall guy when our last job together went pear-shaped.  
Teached me something, I can tell you. As you could guess, I didn't trust her completely – wait, at all. That's why I was armed. Compact variant of the Five SeveN, my personal favorite handgun in the world – never leave home without it. Call me a Splinter Cell fan boy if you want, but it's got the stopping power, range, and makes hardly any sound when it's got the silencer on…

…not that it would help much in the situation I've just found myself in. Like I said, Murphy's Law – if something could go wrong, it will.  
And this just did. Oh so very much. Let's see here…maybe ten armed gunmen. Bolt-action rifles – looks like Tabuu's armory hasn't improved much, although with this many gents I'd be dead before they'd need to reload. Or pull back the bolt. Then their leader stepped in, a brown-skinned bastard in a white suit. I've met hired hit men less persistent than this guy – less lethal, too.  
"Well well well…what have we here, Mister Lowell?" The bastard said. I spat on his suit.  
"Go to hell, Ganon." I said, more bravely than I felt. Ganon smirked.  
"Take him in, boys."  
Like _hell._  
The first one came at me with the saw-knife on the end of his rifle. That was simple enough – twist it away and wind him with a blow to the solar plexus. Then I was up the ladder faster than you could say Stupid Lying Double-Crossing Bitch…which could also mean Samus Aran right now. This plan counted on two things:  
One, they were still lousy shots…and two, they wanted me alive.  
Bullets started pinging off the walls. So much for the second hope…at least they still shot as well as the A-Team on a hangover. I started racing across the rooftops, getting chased by a bunch of druggie fourth-grade dropouts and a bastard in a white suit. Who was somehow in front of me?  
Wait, that's the other guy!

I tried to skid to a stop, but failed. I couldn't do anything. I just messed up my next jump over a gap and collapsed in a heap at his feet. I stared up into the penguin-tattooed face of 'King' Triple D.  
"Gotcha now, huh Lowell?" He grinned evilly. I hated this smug, fat bastard.  
I growled and got to my feet. He seemed surprised. "Like hell you do!" I yelled, curling my hand into a fist.  
I swung at him, feeling a satisfying amount of impact on his jaw. Triple D flew backwards, and I tried to run off again when I suddenly fell to my knees. Ganon caught up with us.  
"The big boss wants you alive. Those were tranquilizers, you idiot." He smirked.  
Oh. That's what they were shooting at me.  
…I am so screwed. Then again, maybe not. Just before I passed out, some other guy started blazing at them with an Uzi. Ganon and Triple D scattered, but their grunts got hosed down. The new guy ran up to me.  
Was it her? Maybe Samus didn't sell me out after all?  
He injected me with some stimms to counter the tranqs, and his face swam into view. His ugly, bearded, scarred, smirking face.  
…not Samus. Definitely not her.

"Dammit, Snake." I muttered, getting up. Snake Gear smirked. I ignored him and continued. "What are you doing here?"  
"Saving your sorry ass once again, it seems." He remarked, following me off the roof before pushing me into a car. "Let's get moving. She's taking too long."  
Wait, what?  
"She's here? With you?"  
"Yessir." Snake muttered with a grin. I groaned. All of my worst fears confirmed in one night, it seemed.  
…did I mention I hate this guy? I buckled myself in and braced for Snake's infamous driving.  
Then I saw it. A woman with blond hair and black highlights, dashing towards the car, gunfire following her. I tried to pull out my SeveN, but she just slid over the roof, and twisted through the open back door.  
Samus Aran. God, she was good at her job.  
"Drive." She commanded. Snake hit the floor, and we were off. She poked an Uzi out the window, gunning down the two goons following her before we turned a bend. She relaxed. An awkward silence ruled.  
"…so…you two are together?"  
"Working together, yes." Samus muttered. Now that I got one good look at her, she was just as beautiful as I remembered. But something told me she was a hell of a lot more dangerous.

"No, I mean…_together_ together."  
Snake blanched.  
"WHAT? NO! GOD NO!"  
Samus stared at me "GROSS! No, god no!"  
I smirked. Some things never change after all. As we drove off into the night, I sighed and realized I didn't have a choice.  
I couldn't go back now – I knew Snake Gear. He'd kill anyone who could compromise the mission. I had to help…or die.  
God damn you, Samus Aran.  
God damn you and your ability to keep pulling me into trouble.  
God damn me for falling in love. I was pulled from my reveries by Samus clearing her throat.

"So, Snake…mind telling us what this job is?"  
Wait, what? She doesn't know either?  
I glared at Snake's head. I knew he'd have to be behind something. Snake just smirked at the mirror.  
"What do you think?"  
I'm not going to like this.  
"We're going to assassinate Tabuu."  
…I didn't like that. God damn my life. I sighed in frustration.  
"How the hell do you lot always manage to get me mixed up in this?" I growled. Samus smirked.  
"What's wrong, _prince_? Scared?"  
…I always hated that freaking callsign. I growled in reply, racking back the slide on my pistol.  
"Never. What's the plan?"

Snake looked me in the eye.  
"Dude. Since when did I plan ahead?"  
I applied palm to forehead, drawing a throaty chuckle from Samus. This was gonna be a loooooooooong night…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Sweet, sweet memories

I suppose I should explain how the hell I got into this mess in the first place. Since it's a half-hour drive to Snake's hideout – right in the slums – I suppose now's a good a time as any.

It all started about five years ago, almost to the day…

**  
_It was raining. Marth hated rain. He glanced up at Samus, a slight smirk on his lips.  
"Are we sure that Tabuu's gonna risk getting his precious tattoo's wet in this weather?" He asked casually, leaning back against the wall. Samus shook her head in reply, focusing on the supposed target area with her sniper scope.  
"I think he will. This trade's meant to be too important." She frowned. "Shouldn't you be getting down there?"  
Marth chuckled. "Aright. Just don't hit me with that thing, Hunter."  
"Will try…Prince."  
Marth winced and walked down the fire escape to street level. He moved across the road rapidly, pulling his head back into his tan greatcoat and resting his hand on the butt of his pistol. Then it happened. Tabuu stepped out into the open, flanked by two of his cronies – Ganon and Triple D. Ganon was a thickset African-American with a penchant for street brawling, while Triple D was an even MORE thickset Caucasian with several blue penguin tattoos and – to Marth's worry – a Hammer-pattern shotgun in his hands. That could complicate things.  
Tabuu was the weirdest, though. He had so many tattoos covering his body; it looked like he had blue skin. He was thin, and not very muscular – how the hell did someone like him end up at the top of the food chain in the underworld?  
And when Tabuu's fist blurred past his face, and smashed into the wall behind him, breaking a brick, Marth remembered. Stronger and faster than he looks. Remember that._

"_You are late, Mister Parrison." Tabuu said calmly. Ganon snickered.  
"Mister T doesn't like to be kept waiting." He muttered, before he shut up when Tabuu glared at him.  
"Do you have the money?" Triple D asked greedily. Marth held up a suitcase.  
"All here, D." He muttered, throwing it at him. Triple D's eyes lit up. Tabuu smirked.  
"Count it." He ordered. He glanced back at Marth. "…and the weapons?"  
Marth nodded, and unrolled a cloth-covered bundle that had been on his back. "You mean this?"  
Tabuu's smirk transformed into a smile when he saw them. Vintage 1940's M1 Garand's. Twenty of….and with an ammunition pouch for each.  
"Excellent…" He hissed. "You shall be rewarded for your services…Mister Lowell."  
Wait, what? Marth thought to himself. My cover was Mark Parrison._

…_.oh, shit._

**  
"Hey, Marth? You okay back there?" Samus asked. I jerked up.  
"Fine, Samus, fine." I muttered. "Just a little dozed over from those tranqs earlier."  
Samus nodded and resumed stripping her gun. I smiled at her. How the hell could I still love her after all that she's done to me?  
**

_Marth gulped. This was not a good situation.  
Tabuu smirked and loaded one of the Garand's. "Surprised, Agent Marth Lowell…call-sign Prince? Planning on proposing to your co-worker after this mission? Our certain…mutual friend has informed us of it."  
The BITCH._

_Marth felt angry, confused…and betrayed. But at the moment, anger won out, along with about five years of combat experience that resulted in a pretty good right hook._

_Tabuu was sent sprawling back, but then Ganon leaped forward and smashed Marth's head against the wall. He drew his fist back, but Marth kicked him in the groin and rolled forward, grabbing a knife and getting in a defensive stance as he went face-to-face with the only 100% functional member of the team, Triple D._

_Then he remembered the shotgun.  
Triple D laughed and fired. Thank god he was a terrible shot, or Marth would've gotten a bit more than a badly injured off-arm and some flash grazing. Marth started running._

_Parkour was out of the question for now, so-  
His train of thought ended there with a single gun report. Samus always was a very good shot._

_Marth collapsed with a bullet through his right foot. Tabuu and his cronies caught up to him._

"_Take him away." Tabuu ordered. "And make sure he dies painfully-"  
His order wasn't completed. Marth managed to roll onto his back and reveal his pistol._

"_Surprise" He grunted, kneecapping Tabuu and his two cronies. They fell to the ground in pain while Marth dragged himself to his feet and, taking only a moment to recover the shotgun, ran like hell, limping all the way. Guess this meant he was out of the business.  
**_

The car pulled into the drive. Snake took out the keys.

"We're here, moron." He muttered, poking me. I glared at him in anger.  
"Shut up, Naked." I muttered, using his least favorite call-sign ever on purpose. He glared back, until Samus groaned in anger.

"Are you going to compare the size of your you-know-what next, or something?" She muttered, pushing past us. Snake growled and followed her. I resisted the temptation – somehow – to send a bullet into his back before following them.

Of course, before that betrayal there were some good times…  
**

"_Are you quite sure about this?" Samus asked Marth quietly. Marth smiled at her._

"_What is there to be nervous about? It's just two co-workers having dinner." He replied. Samus shook her head.  
"Yeah, I guess so…" Was that a tinge of disappointment in her tone? Marth shrugged. Probably just his imagination._

"_Course it is. What else could it be?"  
"Well, look at it this way – your good-looking, single co-worker asks you out for lunch in the most expensive restraint in True City. What would your first reaction be?"  
"Please tell me I'm getting laid tonight?" Marth said with a completely straight face. Samus smirked.  
"Other than that."  
"Gee, I think he's interested." Marth said sarcastically._

"_Exactly." Samus muttered, brushing past him. Marth shrugged and waited until she was out of earshot._

"_Sometimes gut reactions are the way to go, hunter…stop over-analyzing."_

**  
Okay, so that had been one fun night I admitted. But it all went to hell over the course of our next mission…which I've already talked about with you. And then there was the time we met…that was fun.

**  
_Marth was running. He'd been ambushed at the rendezvous point for his other agent – someone with the callsign Hunter. Meant to be one of the best new recruits they've got._

_Other than him, of course. But Marth was beginning to suspect foul play. He saw something rustling in the bushes ahead, so unloaded a few rounds into it. Uzi fire responded.  
…wait, Uzi? This gang didn't have anything near that technological level. At best they had a few old revolvers._

_Oh, snap, Marth had just shot at Hunter. He dived into the bush._

"_Sorry, thought you were one of them." He muttered, reloading the five-seven. Hunter shrugged. He was wearing a paradrop helmet that muffled his voice._

"_I got dropped too far away and too early. I think they saw me." The response came. Marth held out his hand._

"_Prince"  
"Hunter"  
"You ready?"  
"You bet."  
Ownage ensued. Hunter was excelling at gunning down half of the six, while Marth took his time and dispatched two with clean headshots._

"_Showoff!" Hunter yelled. Marth didn't reply, being locked in hand-to-hand combat._

_He wanted showoff? He'd give her showoff. He allowed himself to lock arms with his opponent, and then launched himself into the air to deliver a knockout kick to the jaw and landing perfectly on his hind feet. Cue smirk._

"_That's how you show off, sir." He replied…and then his jaw dropped. Hunter was female. "…err, sorry."  
"Don't worry." Hunter muttered, walking past him. "I get that a lot. I'm Samus Aran."  
Marth shook her hand, looking into her eyes._

"_Marth Lowell."  
Samus smirked. "Now, about the 'sir' comment…"  
Marth opened his mouth to reply when he got thrown into a fence. "…I deserved that…"_

**  
I winced. Pretty sure I still have the scars from that incident. Anyway…it looks like Snake was ready. I glanced around the hideout. Ragged, breaking down, damaged, dusty…then again, for True City slums it was like the god-damn Ritz.

"Nice place." I muttered sarcastically. Samus snickered and Snake just glared at me.  
"Best I could find on short notice." He growled. Then he pulled back a false wall to reveal state-of-the-art electronics.

My mouth hit the floor at the same time Samus' did. Now it was Snake's time to smirk in glee.

"Nice place, huh?"  
God damn you, ironic echoes. I sighed and sat down in a chair, dumping my legs onto the table. "What's the plan?"  
Snake grinned. I groaned.  
Overcomplicated and contrived plan of action, go!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Leap of Faith

I settled down into one of the chairs around Snake's table. First thing I noticed was that he was a slob. Second was that he was a practical joker.

Yes, the chair just gave away under me and dropped me into a week-old pizza. Snake seemed to find this hilarious, but Samus just crossed her arms and scowled.  
"Snake, aren't we meant to be focusing on something?" She asked faux-sweetly, glaring at him. Under the pressure of the famous gaze, he backed down.

Smart move from a dumb man, I thought, resisting the urge to say so out loud. I clambered back onto the other chair that WASN'T rigged to collapse and sighed, wiping old pizza off my face.

"Very funny, Snake." I hissed. The bastard raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.  
"Alright, alright, just trying to defuse the tension just a little…"  
I threw a baseball at his head, where it collided with a satisfying 'thunk'. Snake glared at me, before sighing.  
"Alright, down to business then…"

Once this whole mess was over, I'd look back and admit it looked like a good plan. Of course, I couldn't know that it would go THAT wrong. But that's beside the point.  
The point was, I was gearing up for yet another attempt at bringing down the biggest pain in the ass to law enforcement since the Wire Frame gang. Except Tabuu was dangerous and, according to the laws of the universe, the dangerous ones are always the best.

That's why their dangerous, after all. Even so, I didn't think I'd get stuck in a room full of high-grade weaponry with Samus.

"…pass the 10mm SMG." I said after a few seconds thought. Samus tossed it to me, and I slid it into the holster. I looked around for something else to use – a 10mm SMG and a FiveSeven wasn't enough for this type of mission. Then I saw it.

Back when I was just a combat agent instead of a full-blown agent, I used to have an assault rifle I called Falchion. Thin, long, accurate and firing 5.56mm rounds that could punch a hole in your body the size of my fist. My question was…how the hell did Snake have it? The last time I saw it, I left it on the rooftop with Samus.  
"…did you give this to him or something after that mission?" I asked, rubbing my hands over my old gun. Samus shook her head.

"No. It wasn't even there after you got shot."  
Wait…

"You mean when YOU shot ME."  
"I didn't shoot you!" She protested. "Some other guy on the rooftop behind me did!"  
I snorted. "Yeah, right. Brilliant way to repay the person who was going to ask you to marry him – shoot him in the leg and ruin a mission."  
I grabbed Falchion and a few clips, before splurging on a single fragmentation grenade. Samus had gone deathly still.

"…you were going to what?" She asked softly, pulling her hand back from the shotgun she was going for. I scowled.  
"You heard me."  
I stormed out. It was probably just a trick of the wind, but as I left I could have sworn I heard her whisper to herself.

"…I would have said yes…"

Snake smirked at me as I entered the garage.  
"Aww…is the little prince lovesick?" He teased. I just glared at him.  
"Take us downtown, and if you talk one more time I WILL kill you."  
He shut up, and I got into the back seat. Samus joined me a few seconds later – the front was occupied already. I raised an eyebrow at the figure.

"…who the hell are you?"  
The figure glanced at me from under his hat, cerulean eyes glaring back at me.

"Link." Was all he said, before turning back to the front. I shut up – Link Gaiden was one of the most feared bounty hunters on the face of the world. Even the Agency steered clear of him most of the time – and god help you if you went after the mayor's daughter, Zelda. The last two times she got kidnapped, he personally hunted down and saved her without pay. Rumors of a romantic relationship remain unfounded, but I'm straying from the point here. If Snake thought this was going to be bad enough to bring in the big guys as well…then this entire plan just got riskier.  
Snake floored it, and I tried to get some sleep. Lord knows I was going to need it.

About half an hour's drive later, I managed to blink myself awake again. I glanced around quickly, years of training asserting themselves. Storehouse, multiple jacked-up cars…and a blue wing painted on the door. Yeah, this was one of Tabuu's places alright.  
I clambered out of the car, grabbing Falchion on the way out. Samus glanced to the side guiltily – good. She ruddy well should have noticed what she did was wrong by now. Bitch.

"Right. So, let me run over the plan one more time." I said calmly, slapping a magazine into Falchion. "I take the bridge up high over the rest of the building, Snake is the inside guy, Samus and Link are muscle?"  
"Sounds about right." Snake growled. I nodded and clambered up the ladder. Link glanced up and shouted after me.

"If you see Ganon, kill him for me will ya?"  
I gave him a thumbs-up. "No problem!"

**Samus' POV**

I glanced as Marth pulled himself up, biting my lip guiltily. So that's why he hates me now. But I didn't fire that shot…who did?  
Still, time to ponder over old crushes later. I've got work to do. I sneaked around the side, Link at my shoulder. Eventually, we reached the side door and sneaked in, catching snippets of conversation between Snake and Tabuu.

I ignored it, hiding behind a bunch of crates and waiting for the opportune moment to strike. That was when Link paled.

"Did you hear that too?"  
"Hear what?"  
"What he said. Did you hear what he said?"  
"Who?"  
Link seemed pissed at me.

"SNAKE." He said in a harsh whisper. Then there was a loud crack, and his head exploded on me. I gasped, turned, and saw Snake lower his pistol.

"Heh. Like cattle to the slaughter." He snorted. I snarled and went for my SMG when something slammed across the back of my head.

Everything went black.

**Marth's POV**

I'd just gotten up onto the bridge when I saw Triple D slam his hammer into the back of Samus' head. I cursed, and ducked instinctively. A rusty old sword swung over my head, held by a black hand.

Ganondorf.

I spun on the floor and kicked out for his knee, grinning as it snapped. He let out a howl, and collapsed to the ground. I pulled out the Five-Seven and rammed it to his temple as he moaned in pain.

"Was this a set-up! TELL ME!"  
"Rot in hell, Lowell…"  
I sighed, and shot his other kneecap. Ganon screamed again.

"TELL ME!"  
"YES! SNAKE DID IT! SNAKE SET IT UP! JUST LIKE HE SET THE LAST TIME UP!"  
I froze. "…oh…shit."  
I turned and started to ran in the direction I saw Tabuu drag Samus' unconscious body off. I heard some shuffling and then a bullet singed over my shoulder. I spun and emptied the magazine into Ganon's chest.

"That was from Link, bastard." I spat on his body, before turning around. I've got a crush to apologize to, an old ring to give out, and a smug back-stabbing chain-smoking bastard to kill.

Oh, and an entire gang to bring down, including the most dangerous crime lord to have ever lived in True City. But still, priorities, right?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Run in the dark

**SAMUS' POV**

I groaned and came to, shaking my head clear of the fog that clouded my vision. The first thing I saw was Snake talking to Tabuu.

The double-crossing son of a-I lunged for him, arms outstretched, but I was halted by chains and manacles across my wrists and ankles. Snake smirked at me.

"Look who's awake at last." He said smugly, walking up to me before hitting me in the face. "You need to learn a lot more respect, Hunter."  
I spat at him. Not that it did anything other than cause him to hit me again, but harder this time. I sagged back, wincing slightly. Probably a concussion – as long as it's minor, I might be able to get out of this.

He glanced at me, that damn superior gaze of his driving me insane again. "Well, what a day. You kidnapped, Link dead, and Lowell dead too – he should have popped his clogs five years ago, but no, he had to survive. Last time I hire Wario for a sniper mission…"  
I just sat there, too stunned to talk. I knew that Link had died, but Marth too? It just wasn't possible. Everything I'd seen of him – it was like he was invincible. And now he's gone too?  
That was when one of Tabuu's men burst into the room. "Ganon's dead!" He blurted out. Tabuu glared at him.

"Explain."  
"Shot multiple times. Knees and chest, along with one headshot. Injuries match those caused by a small caliber round – maybe a pistol, Five-Seven model most likely."  
I grinned. Snake dropped his cigar. Tabuu scowled.

"Lowell." Snake and Tabuu snapped at the same time. I couldn't resist adding to the conversation.

"Looks like you're wrong, Snake. You took out Link, but now Marth's onto you. He'll hunt you down and kill you slow…" I taunted. Snake lashed out at me, but Tabuu grabbed his arm before the fist made contact.  
"We cannot damage our blackmail against him." He said calmly, his slight Scottish accent showing through now that he was troubled. "However, since we have to blame someone…"  
He pulled out his own pistol and shot the messenger through the head.

"…and now, Snake, we wait for him to arrive. He'll rise to any opportunity to save his precious little girlfriend, right Hunter?"  
I glared at him with as much hate as I could possibly muster. This guy was dead meat. I'm going to kill him myself.

**Marth's POV**

I was running. About five minutes ago, I heard one of the guards find Ganon's body.

What was left of it, anyway. I'd slung Falchion over my shoulder, relying on my Five-Seven to get me through this right now. I glanced around, and ducked into the shadows just as a group of henchmen came charging down the hallway.

First things first. Find somewhere to hole up for a while. But where could I possibly…  
Bingo. Skylight. The roof should be fairly unoccupied…and if it isn't, well, it's still my best option. I scrambled towards it, clambering up the ladder and out the window. I was greeted, unfortunately, by the unmistakable _clack _of a shotgun being pumped.  
"Don't move a muscle." A deep voice growled. Heavy English accent. Upper-class. Deep enough to match someone maybe 40, 45 years old.  
And almost exactly identical to the one previously belonging to the dead body that I thought was Link's.

"…was he a relative of yours?" I asked carefully, putting the Five-Seven down. Link moved in front of me and nodded.

"Kid brother. Twenny years old. Who shot him?"  
"Snake."  
"Bastard. I'll kill him."  
"Get in line." I hissed dangerously. Link grinned amiably at me.

"I intend to. Now then…"  
A shot ricocheted off the chimney next to us. We both turned rapidly, me swinging Falchion into a firing position.

Three of Tabuu's henchmen were storming towards us, and who else was leading them but Triple D himself?  
I threw myself into cover, wincing as shrapnel from the excessive assault rifle fire ripped into my thigh. I dropped, scoped, and nailed one of the henchmen, decorating the nearby wall with his brains. I was forced to duck back into cover as the other two poured an entire magazine each towards my position. Then the unexpected happened.  
Link reached calmly into a case he was carrying, and produced A FREAKING ONE-SHOT GRENADE LAUNCHER.  
"Fire in the hole." He grunted, leveling it and firing. Both henchmen were caught in the explosion, which ripped one's legs off and the other was almost completely vaporized.

By then, Triple D and his shotgun had already reached our position. Link whipped out a combat knife, and dived to meet him, slamming the blade into the pump to jam it. Triple D resorted to using it as a club in desperation, but I have to admit, Link moved pretty damn well for a 40-year-old man.  
He got a few good punches in, picked Triple D up by the cuff of his shirt, and threw him off the building. I waited a few moments.  
As soon as I got to 'three', there was a crunch. I winced. No way was something surviving a fall from THAT height. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, that's that then." I muttered, clicking Falchion's safety back on. Link nodded.  
"I suppose. So, what's that leave Tabuu with?"  
"Zero lieutenants, twenty-odd henchmen, and Snake. Who I have dibs on killing." I growled. Link started to smirk.

"Sounds like fairly even odds to me." He muttered, pumping his shotgun. I couldn't help but grin back.

"I suppose so. Their mooks haven't been up to much so far, have they?"

**Samus' POV**  
I was crying. I hated to admit it, but I was crying. I'd heard gunshots, explosions – I just hope Marth came out of it alive. I'm scared, and I hate to admit it. I hate to admit anything can shake me. I'm Samus FUCKING Aran, for crying out loud. Hunter, one of the best Agents ever – one of the best FIGHTERS ever, and here I am, crying like a baby because some man I've been pining over for the last five years might have just died. Snake grinned and watched me.  
"Hehe…your little boyfriend is screwed, ain't he?" He drawled. Tabuu, across the room, sighed.  
"Snake, lay off. I'm going to go check the men. Do what you want with her."  
"Thank you sir…" He said with a leer. I tried to pull away, but I only managed to press myself against the wall as he got closer.  
And closer…

…closer…

**Marth's POV **

After a brief period of deliberation, Link and I had finally reached what was probably as close a plan could get to non-suicidal we could make in this situation. I'd left him Falchion, and he'd snipe from the roof while I snuck inside and freed Samus. Not that she'd admit she needed rescued, but there's no point in complaining about it.

Of course, while outside the door to Tabuu's office I heard Snake's voice. Why the hell couldn't these things stay simple?

Then what he was actually saying registered.

"Stop shaking, it'll make things easier."  
I'm not afraid to admit I lost it. I kicked the door down, and stormed towards him, pistol armed. Snake's head shot up and away from Samus, who was huddled in a corner, tears streaking down her face.  
"Lowell-" He started to say, before I interrupted him.  
I rammed the pistol into his mouth, breaking his teeth and not stopping until the trigger guard was lodged on his cheek. One second was stretched out into a single moment of clarity – his eyes looked into mine, begging, pleading me to let him live.

As you could imagine, my response was in the area of 'Hell no'.

I emptied the magazine into his skull, pulverizing his brain and smashing through the back of his head. In fact, most of the bullets still had enough force to break the window behind him after exiting. I turned and reloaded as the now-unrecognizable corpse fell to the ground, before walking over to Samus.

"Are you alright?"  
"DO I FREAKING LOOK ALRIGHT?"  
_Well, some things never change… _I mused to myself, cutting the ropes holding her to the wall.  
Then she hit me.  
**SAMUS' POV**  
"THAT'S FOR DRAGGING ME INTO THIS MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE!" I yelled in his face, dusting my hand off as he got back up.

"I dragged YOU into it? YOU DRAGGED ME INTO IT!" He yelled back at me. I twitched again, resisting the urge to punch harder this time.

"SHUT UP!" I screamed in his face.

"Do you WANT to get tied up again?"  
"Maybe I do! You can re-do the rescue and NOT take three hours and make me think you got yourself killed!"  
"Why should you care?"  
"Because I love you!"  
He gave me a blank stare. I bit my lip.

_Oooh, crap._

**LINK'S POV**

I chuckled from my vantage point on the opposite rooftop. Falchion had a good enough sight for me to read their lips from this distance.

I swear to god, that entire sequence was better than a soap opera!

**Marth's POV**

I blinked a few times. Then, at last, I smirked.

"About time."  
Samus impersonated a fish for a while, before exploding. "WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?"  
"Oh, come on. I've been dropping hints for YEARS."  
"Yeah, well SORRY if I focus more on my work!" She snapped back at me. I chuckled.

"Yeah, well, can you rant at me later? We've kind of got to get out of here." I explained, opening the door.

_Me and my big mouth_ I thought grimly, staring at the firing squad down the hall. Samus tackled me out of the way, at the exact same time that they opened fire. One fell over with his head exploded – that would be Link with his promised help, I suppose.

I needed a plan of some sort to get out of here – we're just too pinned down. Samus glanced at the ropes in the corner, then at the window.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked slyly, grabbing two and making a quick reef knot.

"I hope so." I muttered, tying the other two together before helping her with the final knot. With this, we should be able to get out of the building alive.

"We're going to have to leave Tabuu, you realize." I growled, making a dash across the door's line of fire to get to the window. Samus dashed next to me.

"Big deal. Let the Agency deal with him – we're retired, remember?"  
"I thought I was betrayed and you quit." I muttered dryly. Samus stared at me.

"I. Didn't. Shoot. You."  
"I. Know." I mimicked, smirking. I became serious again afterward, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry for the accusations."  
"Sorry for not realizing you thought I had." Samus muttered, clambering out the window. I followed her, and we scrambled down the wall onto the streets.

"Let's make a run for it." Samus said bluntly, heading for a side street.  
"Yeah. One second." I said distantly, pulling out a phone and going into preset dials.

"Link? Coast is clear. Rendezvous at church good for you? 'kay thanks."  
I hung up before he could respond. Samus gaped at me.

"Are you insane? Link is dead."  
"Technically, no. It's a long story. Follow me."  
I dived into the streets, Samus behind me. I know this place like the back of my hand – a few years doing nothing but hunting down criminals through these streets would do that for you.

**Tabuu's POV**  
I cursed and punched the nearby wall.

"Damn it! Lowell…you'll regret this." I swore under my breath. My one surviving lieutenant shrugged.

"Ah, come on boss. It's not like he's that good. Who the heck is he, anyway?" Wario muttered, grabbing a bag of chips from his pocket. Tabuu twitched dangerously.

"A friend of death, a brother of luck and a SON of a BITCH."  
Wario paused. "…doesn't narrow it down much."  
"It doesn't need to. Give the order to pack up. We're moving out to a different town."  
"Yes, sir."

Epilogue: It's a long way to go

**Two years later…Marth's POV**  
I groaned and slammed my head onto my desk. Stupid paperwork. Stupid new job in police force. Stupid red tape.

"I miss the agency." I groaned. Samus – who worked with me on most cases – smirked.

"After you left, it went downhill – people had to have regulations, for some reason. Anyway…at least you're not getting shot at so often anymore."  
I nodded. "Yeah. It's nice knowing you don't have to worry about being shot in the dark."  
Samus sighed, and shut down her computer. "Things sure got better though, haven't they?"

I couldn't disagree with that either. I just glanced over at her, then at her hand. The ring I wanted to give her all those years ago glistened on it, as though knowing I'd be looking for it.

"Yeah…they sure did." I paused for a moment. "Can't help but wonder what happened to Tabuu, though."

**Tabuu's POV**

I was running through the streets of Yuan City. The damn agency had sent two agents to hunt me down and kill me.

Callsigns: Prince and Hunter. How ironic. However, even if it WAS Lowell and Aran, I had no choice but to run – they'd already taken out the last of my guards, including Wario, for all the good he's ever done.

I ran around the corner, straight into a trap. The two agents, still helmeted, leveled their weapons at me.

"…Lowell." I growled. The 'prince' shook his head.

"Marth's retired. I'm Roy, his trigger happy replacement. Hunter over there with the shotgun is Ike."  
"Evening." Ike grunted, pumping it.  
I opened my mouth to try and reply, but Roy dashed forwards and past me. Something slammed against my throat.

I started falling, even though I couldn't feel anything. Then I saw the blood gathering on the floor.

…throat…slit…bastard…no-

**Marth's POV**

I shrugged. "Ah, well. Not our business anymore. I'm about done. Want to go home?"  
Samus glared at me. "…pervert."  
I laughed. "Oh, blame me for trying, why don't you?"  
I got up and grabbed my coat, kissing her lightly on the lips.

"See you later."  
I made a run for it. Seconds later, Samus exploded.

"MARTH ALTEA LOWELL! DON'T YOU _DARE_ LEAVE ME WITH YOUR PAPERWORK!"

Once again…some things never change. Thankfully, some things do.

At least Murphy's law seems to have finally stopped applying to me.


End file.
